AMD roadmap finds its way to fan site

By Alun Williams

Posted on 24 Jan 2005 at 16:57

Details of an unpublished AMD processor roadmap have been released by www.tweakers.net.

The site purports to show a number of new processors in the desktop space for the first and second quarters of 2006. Specifically - and brace yourself for more product codenames - Windsor, Orleans and Manilla. The official AMD roadmap - which can be found on the AMD website - runs up to the end of 2005.

If the image is genuine, then Windsor is a dual-core processor, supporting DDR2, that will succeed the 90nm Toledo, which is the successor to the high-end AMD Athlon 64 FX chips. An 'M2' socket will replace the Toledo's socket 939.

Appearing in the first quarter of 2006, it will apparently feature elements of 'virtualisation', which presumably is AMD's response to Intel's Vanderpool technology - Intel champions virtualised home media server.

Orleans, meanwhile, is the DDR2 supporting successor to the 90nm Venice, which covers the future of Athlon 64 chips. This is also due to appear in the first three months of 2006 and have support for virtualisation.

Finally, Manilla represents the future for the value Sempron processors. Replacing Palermo, itself due by the first half of 2005, it again supports DDR2 and the new socket type. It is due to appear by the second half of 2006.

Note, however, that the image from tweakers.net has now been taken down. We shall see in good time just how genuine it was. Caveat emptor.